


How do you measure power?

by Lee_has_writers_block



Series: How do you measure power? [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Comas - Freeform, Death, Fluff and Angst, Human AU, M/M, Prinxiety - Freeform, Soulmates, Teacher!Logan, fat shaming mentioned, logicality - Freeform, low-income, mentions of arguments, nurse!Patton, possible smut in later chapters, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-22 06:32:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17657729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lee_has_writers_block/pseuds/Lee_has_writers_block
Summary: After tragedy strikes Logan finds not only is the love of his life in a coma but he also now has super powers. His perfect world comes crashing down on him as he becomes adjusted to this new world in which anything is possible and Logan has never been so unsure.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> tw- coma, death.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy.

How can you measure power?

Do we call a person powerful because of their muscle mass or their will power? Logan would like to believe that his mind is mightier then any physical expression of power. Certainly a higher IQ is better then a toned stomach and abs. He’d always believed that in a crisis his quick thinking and extensive knowledge of many different subjects would get him through instead of being strong and fit. Of course, Logan knew it was important to be healthy and to eat a balanced diet. He knew it was important to go to the gym for a minimum of two and a half hours a week or at least do some form of exercise over that time period. Logan knew that a healthy body lead to a healthy mind that is ready to learn- it was his quote he lived by and that he would tell his students every day. He had loved being a teacher. There was something enjoyable about teaching young, growing minds and helping them to achieve a brilliant future. It filled him with pride whenever he would mark a student’s exam paper and see how well they had done. Logan loved the school. He loved the long cream coloured corridors bustling with students who more often then not were not very eager to learn. He loved his classroom, the soothing brown walls that gave the room a more calming atmosphere (which of course is very important when one is learning or revising), the desks that were all perfectly placed apart from each other not a centimetre out of place, the eco-friendly energy saving lights that gave the room a warm gentle glow and of course his big, mahogany desk at the front- neatly organised with equally heighted stacks of paper and a little container for pens. A grey computer with a wireless keyboard he could carry around the classroom when giving presentations and two dark blue photo frames. One photo frame contained a picture of what the stars looked like the night he met his soulmate and the other contained a picture of him and his soulmate dancing together on their wedding night. 

Logan could be described by strangers as a very stoic man. His face rarely showed emotions and he was rather eloquent in his speech. He very rarely spoke in short sentences unless giving one worded response. He was a very hard person to form a connection with. Say you bumped into a stranger and had to work together in a school project for example. Would you say hello? Would you make conversation and try to become friends? Perhaps you would- perhaps you are the type of person who makes friends quickly and is casual and easy going. Or maybe you are the type of person who would shy away from strangers and feel awkward in situations in which conversation must be made. On the extrovert to introvert spectrum Logan sits firmly in the centre. He is introverted in nature and much prefers to be alone much like how his soulmates best friend was however he can talk to others without feeling uncomfortable easily. He is what you would call an ambivert. An ambivert is a noun describing a person who has both introvert and extrovert qualities. To further define what this means we would have to investigate what both of those words can be defined as although we will not discuss that today. Logan loves looking into every single possibility. If a puzzle has a single meaning left unsolved then it is certain he will solve it. As a child Logan fancied himself to be a detective. He adored crime shows and loved to read thrillers and mysteries in hopes of working out who the killer was before presented. He happened to be fantastic at problem solving in maths as a kid and he was the leader of the debates team as he often would try to solve something from both sides with justified, fact-fuelled arguments. He hated arguments that were not backed with evidence. That’s why when he first met Patton, he hated him. Patton had been a boy that didn’t logically make sense. He was over-emotional and despite being from a low-income family he still gave away stuff to those who were less fortunate. To this day Patton would still bring food in for the quote on quote hungry kiddos who were not being fed properly at home. He was caring in nature and in recollection that is probably one of the more outstanding features that caused Logan to fall in love with him. 

If you asked Patton how he would describe Logan, you would get a very different answer to what a stranger or even friend would say. Patton would probably describe Logan as strong. An answer that would most likely receive some prejudice due to Logan’s natural chub. People didn’t tend to care whether a person was healthy. Many skinny people are underweight and yes, many people who are bigger due tend to be unhealthy but a lot of them are actually very healthy. A lot of people follow a balanced diet and have regular blood pressure and peak flow levels. A lot of people follow the recommended exercise levels and are very healthy people despite not looking physically fit as per societies standards. Sure- according to society Logan was fat. A word that had been used so much to berate others and insult them that it sounded ugly. Fat: a word that can be defined as having large amounts of excess flesh. Only 30% of thee worlds population is deemed overweight but what is the difference? What is the difference between being overweight and fat? Well, fat is generally a term used to describe someone’s physical appearance without considering their actual weight or how healthy they are. A person may have an above average immune system, they may have never smoked once in their life and have healthy organs and a healthy heart. They may have perfectly healthy lungs and may be attractive and good at sport and a overall good person but due to this natural excess skin they have that may just be a cause of genetics they have now been labelled fat. A word that does not accurately describe them. A person who is deemed overweight is simply a person who is too heavy for their height and age. A BMI that decides whether a person is overweight is simply and equation of weight in kilograms dived by height in centimetres and then again by height in centimetres. This determines a BMI but is not an exact indication of whether a person is healthy or not. A person can be healthy and fat. The stigmatism behind such a vile sounding word causes a world of upset to those who are called it. Logan surely knows that road well however Logan is a man of facts and facts alone and the facts are that yes, he’s overweight but he is healthy and that shouldn’t be a factor that can be used to be determined his worth in this world. Patton says he’s beautiful and for Logan that is enough.

Patton says a lot of things. Just two weeks ago Logan heard Patton tell one of his infuriatingly annoying puns to a dog they had walked past on the street whilst doing one of their weekly walks through their local woods. Logan would never admit just how much he actually loved those puns, but they made his day and sometimes he couldn’t stifle the laugh that wanted to erupt from his stomach when Patton made a rather clever one. Logan loved so much about Patton that he would never admit. How could you not love him? The man was so very clever and funny and all around adorable. He worked three days a week on the night shift as a nurse and was constantly on call in case of an emergency. The amount of dates that had been cancelled when Logan and Patton were first dating due to emergencies was too many to count. Logan saw him as an everyday superhero and adored the nurse more then anyone he had ever meant. If Logan was to measure power, he would use Patton as an example. The man had been through so much. He hadn’t been able to afford university and had managed to get a scholarship. He had built his way up from a boy who lived in a small apartment with his parents who went most days without a proper meal to a stunning, healthy man who was successful and who’s cooking rivalled that of a professional chef. Logan was constantly in awe of the man. He could never understand why of all people, Patton had chosen him.

Logan lived in an average sized home by the top of his street which was surrounded by a white picket fence and had a lovely front garden with lush, green grass and flowers blooming. The home from the outside looked happy. It was a cute, cottage looking home. A place with two floors on the inside containing a master bedroom, a guest room, an office, a large kitchen connected by a half wall to an open plan living room/ dining room and three bathrooms. There was an en-suite in the master bedroom downstairs there was a garage in which a light blue 2012 model Impreza is parked. He’d spend most nights working in his office that was just as organised and tidy as everywhere else in the home was. In the office there is oak flooring with a black rolling chair and a dark brown wooden desk with a lamp on it and a old computer as well as pens in a pot for when Logan has to mark work and piles of school books and work that he does over the weekends. There’s a minifridge under the desk for late night marking in a cupboard connecting to the desk. The cupboard has a shelf above the fridge where snacks and spare equipment is stored when Logan is planning his lessons late into the night. The fridge is full of fresh bottled water and fruit. Logan loves his home. Its perfect. However, he hates the emptiness of it when Patton is gone. Logan finds the nights very lonely when his husband is not around and feels selfish that he would rather have Patton home constantly by his side then out at work helping to save lives. He stays up late into the night working when Patton is away as he cannot bring himself to sleep alone. Many times, Patton has got back home after his shift early in the mornings to find Logan passed out at his desk. Logan knows when he’s working late what Patton would say to him. Its probably the same thing he would say back. Some speech about how a healthy sleep schedule is important for the body and is optimal in requiring a person to have another energy to face a day. Something like that except it would probably be more packed with emotional blabber and a lack of facts, something like, “Logan, hunny… You know how important sleep is! You’ve got a busy day tomorrow and if you don’t follow a healthy sleeping schedule you’ll be tired in the morning. No on wants Mr grumpy ok sweetheart?” Or words to that effect. 

Logan’s life was perfect. The sort of life that you only see in a movie or a book. He had the perfect job, the perfect husband, the perfect house and the perfect friends. Had he faced struggles and hardships? Of course. Had he had some bad jobs along the way leading up to this point? Had he been through some bad relationships and had some bad friends? Had he lived in some crappy apartments? Yes, yes and yes. He had been through some rain before the sunshine. He had been through some hard times with Patton; they weren’t perfect. He can’t deny there has been times where he has argued with Patton and they’ve not talked for weeks or there are times where it felt like his world was over because they had broken up. There was an entire six month period in which Logan and Patton had been apart. Those six months had admittedly been the worst couple months of Logan’s life. But that was all the past. He loved his life now. He was happy.

But hapiness comes at a price.

Logan hadn't expected it to happen. The day had gone so fast. He had woken up one morning to news reports of how a dangerous radioactive substance had been released that night at the local hospital and anyone in a 10 mile radius has possibly been affected by it. The entire town was now under quarentine and people were advised to stay indoors. Logan didn't listen. His husband was at that hospital. His husband may have been one of those 45 dead. The day went by in a blur. Before he knew it he was at his husbands bedside, sobbing and praying he'd just wake up. He looked so pale... Patton was in a coma. 

His Patton. His strong husband who saved lives everyday was laid on a hospital bed looking almost lifeless and Logan was absolutely powerless with no way to help him.

Logan was alone.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life after the explosion in Sunnyside was bleak and colourless. Virgil Sanders is travelling to visit his best friend in hospital in this new town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW- Mentions of death, violence, blood, crime, hints at cheating, brief hints at malnutrition, mention of terrorist attack, mentions of bombing, coma.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy.

“Sam! Hurry up. Visiting hours are nearly over.” Virgil was pacing the kitchen waiting for his girlfriend Samantha. She’d been at the hospital at the time of the attack. What had been at first reported as a chemical spill was soon reported for what it truly was, a terrorist attack. A bomb that contained a highly toxic, radioactive substance had been let off in the west wing of the hospital. Samantha worked on the east ring with Patton. The explosion alone killed over eighteen victims and within hours the highly radioactive substance had caused high amounts of radiation poisoning. Death spread throughout the hospital like the common cold. Months had passed since the attack and people were still under quarantine. Many like Patton who had been deemed to be in a coma had died and almost everyone in a half a mile radius of the hospital had high levels of radiation inside them; most fatal amounts but some were lucky. No one in that entire hospital walked out ok and yet here Samantha was- burn scars on her face from the explosion but only a low level of radiation. Virgil didn’t question it. He just felt lucky she was ok. Right now though he was just excited to see his best friend for the first time in months. Sure, he was anxious about the gas masks and hazmat suits and inspections he would have to go through to see Patton and he couldn’t even imagine what he was going to say to Logan. Logan had always been the quiet type and they had never really got along or talked much but they both shared an appreciation for space. Logan had visited since the day he heard about the explosion. He had gone every day since. He couldn’t even touch his husband without wearing gloves or having some sort of material between them. Logan had been forced to wear a suit and a gas mask for all these months. Not only that but he had to wear a radiation monitor which would beep obnoxiously when he had to leave. They wouldn’t let him leave the building without first washing himself down in their on-site cleaning station and taking some mandatory pill that apparently lowered any form of radiation poisoning. To Virgil the whole procedure sounded insane. By the time you’d got in or out your loved one could be dead. 

Samantha walked downstairs and fondly rolled her eyes as she watched Virgil pacing the hall. She gently placed her hands on his shoulders and stopped him from pacing, “Virgil.. Breathe.. Breath with me storm cloud. Did you take your meds?” Virgil nodded and slowly breathed along with her feeling himself slowly become calmer. He built up his courage as he walked out of the door and on to the quiet streets of his small town. Virgil had grown up in this lively, little town. It had always been a colourful place full of cheery people and an uplifting atmosphere. To an outsider it didn’t have much to offer but to Virgil it was his safe place. Everyone was so friendly and in this place you knew everyone. Nothing ever changed. That’s why the attack had affected Virgil so much. It was like his entire world had changed. This lovely town that he adored with his entire being was now a place of tragedy, death and despair. No one left their homes anymore. Streets were filled with an eerie silence. Streets full of colour and joy, once filled with people and innocent young minds playing around in warm bustling markets and parks. Store fronts packed with flowers of bright orange and red hues now lay decayed. It was as though someone had painted over the town with dark greys and dull browns. A dismal, depressing atmosphere had taken over what had once been paradise. Virgil felt tense just walking down his street; a street he had walked thousands of times. The gloom was equivalent of a large boulder resting on each residents’ shoulders. Virgil had always been a sore thumb among the town. His whole aesthetic was based around darkness and edge but even he despised the inky black fog that now engulfed his town in darkness. In hard times most tight knit towns in fairy tales and stories are said to band together and ‘rebuild’ but this clearly wasn’t the case. People cared more about living themselves then risking their lives to help others and so the people of this town had locked themselves indoors. After the attack, many places of work had closed as a safety regulation for both the customers and staff causing many people to be out of work and lose money. People in the town had started to go hungry and many resorted to crime. Crime rates were at an all time high and now there was reports of superhuman robberies. It was truly a time of terror.

Virgil walked quickly, practically dragging Samantha along with him. His eyes frantically searched the streets in case of danger. He would be useless if any danger would befall them but if push came to shove and he was in a fight or flight situation at least he could run. Damn he was a fast runner.   
“C’mon Sammy..” his voice was hushed, “If we go quickly we might not run into any trouble.” The pair hurried down the long, winding road towards the hospital in town centre. Sam looked ready to fight anyone who even looked at her funny. She had her fists clenched as she raced just behind Virgil and her eyes squinted, searching the shadows for any sign of life. Virgil would be lying if he said he was focused on the streets. He was more worried about the woman he had firmly clasped in his grip. They had been through a rough patch lately over the past months of the attack. Samantha had a habit of lying little and often- Virgil usually let it slide but he’d just been so paranoid lately and when Sam would spend her nights away from home and only return late at night it made him anxious. What was she up to? Was she off running some crime circle or maybe she was cheating on him? Maybe she didn’t love him anymore and had found somebody else. It would explain how she managed to survive the attack; maybe she never was even there at the hospital that day. He wouldn’t put it past Samantha to have lied but he couldn’t bare confrontation without having solid evidence. Part of him hoped he would never have to confront her, he loved Sam and he wanted her to be real with him. Maybe he’d forgi- No. He couldn’t forgive that but he shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Maybe she was just lucky.

One bad turn. It took one bad turn before they were faced with bats and knives. All thoughts of Sam cheating flew from Virgil’s mind as he froze in the face of danger. Panic bubbled inside of him like a volcano ready to erupt but he couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. His basic instincts were stripped away as he just stood there gaping as though he was a fish. The men looked blood thirsty and cold. Much different to the fishermen they had once been. Virgil had been well acquainted with most of the men. He knew their names, their wives’ names and the names of all their children. He could tell you where each lived and had babysitted for many of them before. Whatever former relationship he shared with each of these men was clearly gone now as they all cornered the young couple. “Richard.. Buddy. How are the kids?” Sammy asked. She sounded calm- threatening almost. The man clearly flinched from the question, but the group got closer still. Persistent. Virgil felt like he was in the lion’s den. Perhaps he was already trapped within the lion’s jaws, his head ready to be snapped off at any second. If he reached Patton it would be a miracle. He could feel the breath hitting his face. The repugnant smell of fish encased him. This was not how he imagined death. He had imagined it to be slow and graceful. He had imagined it to be a welcomed experience once he had reached old age and was married to Sammy and had kids. Death was nothing like that. Cold metal burned his skin. The blade pressed against his sensitive neck drawing a fresh line of crimson blood. His eyes stung with unshed tears as he stared into the eyes of old friends. This surely couldn’t be how he died…

“Stop you fiends!” A loud, obnoxious voice yelled. A booming sound that send shivers down Virgil’s spine. The men all froze- not in horror but as though on command. Their angered faces turned blank and robotic. They all fell back into line as though they were military men and just stood there. “Go home and leave these people be!” The voice demanded. The men oddly left without argument. A man with neatly styled brown hair and caramel skin walked out from the shadows and towards the couple. He was wearing a dark brown oversized sweater and a warm smile. His faded blue jeans looked out of character for that of a super hero. He clearly was just some guy but to Virgil he was a hero. “Roman O’Connell?!” Virgil shrieked. Just his luck that he was saved by the guy he has spent the entirety of high school crushing over. Hard. Virgil had been an anxious bisexual mess all his life and of course that sexy budding author had managed to write himself back into Virgil’s life somehow. “I thought you moved to New York to try and get onto Broadway.” Roman chuckled at this. It was a low sound that bounced against the walls and brought a small smile to the young emo’s face. “Yeah. I moved for a bit, but I changed my mind. My first book took off and I decided I was better off at home. Who knew that weeks after I moved back the world would come crashing down on this small place?” Virgil nodded in agreement. He met eyes with his old friend. Roman had grown so much. He looked so much more mature and at peace. He’d always been an over-confident clown but now he had an air of responsibility around him. “So you’re playing superhero now O’Connell.” Sam commented. Her eyebrow was raised so high Virgil thought it might fly off her face. Roman looked shocked at first but he quickly recovered. “Why of course!” he exclaimed, “You know I can’t bear to leave a gorgeous damsel such as yourself fall victim to such a brutal attack, dear Samantha.” Virgil groaned at Roman’s theatrics. That was the man he knew. The man who flirted and hid behind walls. The man that constantly walked the line between fiction and non-fiction.

“But how did you do that? Those folks looked like zombies. Are you one of those superhumans?” The three fell silent at the question. Roman looked awkwardly between the two. The answer to the question was obvious and yet held such a level of secrecy. It wasn’t normal. “W-Why yes.. I am. The radiation… It changed me. It’s like writing a story. Everything I narrate comes true within reason. Pretty cool right?”

“Cure Patton.”

“What?” Roman and Sam both looked at Virgil shocked. “Bring all the people who died from the attack back. Bring Patton out of his coma. Narrate it. Just say, ‘Patton woke up and all the people who died were saved.’ If you’re some big hero now you should save them.” Roman stared at Virgil with soft, heartbroken eyes. He wanted to help those who were in pain more then anything, He knew Patton- he would love to help him and to bring back those who were dead, but the feat was just…. Impossible. It was beyond his reach. “Virgil my powers don’t work like that. I’m sorry. Truly, I am but I cannot just wish people back to life. I cannot perform the impossible.” Virgil sighed. He was asking the world from somebody he hadn’t seen in so long. It was unfair. They all stared at each other in an uncomfortable silence for a while until Sam spoke up, “Well Roman, it has been lovely seeing you but I’m afraid it’s time we go. Visiting times are almost over.” Roman nodded and Virgil went to say his goodbyes to his old friend before being quickly rushed away by Samantha off towards the hospital. Virgil sent Roman an apologetic look as he was dragged away which was met with a small smile. That stupid smile that made Virgil’s knees weak and his heart pound against his rip cage. He knew it was wrong to like Roman whilst he was with Sam, but he couldn’t help it. It was only a harmless crush and it was clearly obvious due to Sammy’s reaction. He let his thoughts whisk him away as they raced along the barren streets towards ‘Sunnyside hospital’. An ironic name for a place so dull and full of sadness, especially since the sunshine in a lot of the towns day to day life was currently laying half dead on a hospital bed. Virgil just wished he could do something to help his friend. He just wanted to see him. To be there for Logan. God, he couldn’t imagine how much this all hurt Logan. Patton and Logan were like the sun and the moon- one was bright and warm, making everyone’s days better and the other was mysterious and beautiful. They both worked together in making the Earth brighter and without one their would be complete darkness and despair. 

“Virgil.. We’re nearly there. We’d be there faster if you’d hurry up.” Sam urged as she dragged him down the street. Virgil hurried behind letting his mind settle as his soul focus became the hospital. The building was in ruins since the explosion. The west wing looked like a post war zone. It was destroyed, rubble crumbling to the floor and overgrown plants growing into the walls. The building reeked of decay. The east ring wasn’t any prettier. Broken walls were covered by white sheets that blew in the wind. The entrance to the hospital had become a quarantine zone in which you would go through the prior mentioned process before visiting any family. The hospital had only been open to close family for the first couple months but now it was the first day in which friends could visit. Virgil sprinted the rest of the way to the entrance. The adrenaline finally catching up with him. He had to go see his friend right now. They both entered the hospital and went through the long, tedious process. Finally, after being suited up and ready they were walked down the halls towards where Patton was being kept. The hospital was full of agony. As Virgil walked he could hear the howls of patients in pain and the cries of family members in utter anguish. A pool of dread sat in the bottom of his stomach. Maybe he didn’t want to see his friend like this. Patton had always been the strong one. The guy that had been there for him when Virgil was at his lowest or was feeling his most anxious. Seeing Patton hurt felt like the curtain call. He didn’t want to think about a reality in which Patton was dead. It was silly right? Everybody dies but Virgil just couldn’t imagine a world without his best friend.

They reached the door. E34. His hand rested on the door handle. He knew his hand was shaking, the door handle rattled under his grip. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

Click.

The door opened to a dimly lit room. Logan sat asleep on a chair beside Patton’s bed. Their hands clasped together. Patton’s was unmoving whilst Logan’s was gripping Patton’s limply. Both men looked broken. Logan’s black hair was long and greasy- a complete change to his usual buzzcut style. It flopped over his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t washed himself or eaten for days. His glasses were askew on his face and his shirt was dirty as though he hadn’t left in a long time. Virgil tried to avoid looking at his friend. The man’s curly blond hair had grown since he’d last seen him. It covered his eyes. His round glasses sat on the desk covered in a thin layer of dust. His normally red, freckle-filled cheeks were drained of all colour. He was unnaturally pale and sickly. His pink lips were as pale as his skin and he looked thinner then usual. Virgil found himself looking away from them both, gripping Samantha’s hand tightly who let out a sob once laying eyes on the couple. He ran his eyes over Patton’s limp body once more. He was still in his nurses’ uniform. He looked so at peace- as though he was ready to go. He watched his hand that Logan held intensely. The hand twitched slightly and as though by a miracle they intertwined. Despite the crazy, despite the blood shed and crime. Despite every odd fighting against it love had found a way. Love had wo-

A shrill scream erupted from Patton’s lips as though he were still in that explosion. The sound shook Logan awake. The sound thundered against the walls with ear piercing intensity and was laced with pure terror. As quickly as the hand was intertwined it was ripped away. Patton sat up quickly. His eyes that were once a deep ocean blue were now a pure white. Even the pupil was colourless. Virgil stared on in horror as his friend frantically looked around the room. Scanning every surface with his eyes.

“Patton! Patton! My love it’s ok. You’re safe I’m right here. You’re fi-“

“I’m dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a kudo and comment. They make my day.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton has finally woken up from his coma. Dr Picani, a therapist who helps people work through their problems with cartoons is introduced. Virgil has a shocking revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings- Mentions of death, mentions of decay, mentions of PTSD, mentions of hypochondria and therapy.
> 
> Let me know if I missed anything.
> 
> Enjoy :)

“So Patton. Let’s go over that day again, ok?” Emile leaned forward in their seat, eyes peering over their glasses as they watched the formally known to be bubbly man fidget on the couch, “Now remember. It’s ok to talk about the past. Confrontation can be hard but if Anna would have never confronted her sister Elsa then Elsa would have shut the castle doors after coronation day and everyone would have been miserable!” Patton looked up at the doctor with a light smile. The first smile that had graced his lips in the week since he had woken up from his coma. Dr Picani was good at finding silly links between problems and cartoons which confused a lot of patients but had always made Patton feel safe. By referring to a problem and linking it to something from Patton’s childhood such as a cartoon it made issues easier to deal with. 

“W-Well it started just before I’d fully woken up… I had a dream.”

Darkness pooled around Patton. His eyes were closed but he could feel a hand on top of his own. The hand felt limp as though the person was sleeping... Possibly dead. Where was he? The last thing he could remember was the explosion. A crash so loud that his ears were still ringing. He could feel freezing cold air beating against his face as his stiff, aching muscles finally started to respond. He intertwined his fingers with the hand in search of warmth and squeezed. He felt calmed by the hand. He slowly opened his eyes and screamed. He sat up and tried to push himself away but came crashing into a wall. Where was he? He wasn’t in the hospital. He was in some sort of bunker. The walls were a icy, coal grey concrete. All the walls were lined with shelves that were filled to the brim with empty food cans. The place looked prepared. The room had a thick layer of dust covering every single object. There were cabinets and boxes filled to the brim with used supplies. The bunker looked as though it had already been used. As though an apocalypse had already happened. Across from Patton there was a woman’s decaying body laying against a bed. Her skin was grey, her lips a pale pink. From inspection she must have been pretty in her time but now she was simply a corpse. Bundles of blond hair lay straggled atop her scalp; bald patches separated each clump of greasy fibre. She was sat up on her own bed that looked almost identical to Patton’s. Her skin was torn and bloody. Patton looked away quickly from the girl. He instead focused down on himself. He was in a gasmask and had on a hazmat suit. The suit had a name stitched onto the sleeve, ‘Luke Jenkins’. Upon further inspection of himself, he too was decaying. Parts of the suit and his skin had decomposed leaving only bone in its place. Patton, feeling confused and scared whispered his fate to the lone unrelenting bunker. A bunker he could not remember. The words left his lips as solid fact, “I’m dead.”

“And then you woke up?” Dr Picani inquired. Patton nodded, pulling his sweater over his hands to make sweater paws and stared at the floor. “I woke up. And my husband was there. He was wearing the suit.” Dr Picani nodded and scribbled down some notes. The room felt silent except the soft scratching of a pen against paper. It was a sound that brought Patton a great deal of comfort- it reminded it of long winter nights with his husband in which they would both be sat in a relaxed silence. Patton would be reading and Logan would be busy marking books. “So you told me in our last session you were going to research Luke Jenkins. Did you find anything?” Patton once again nodded his head. He had in fact researched Luke Jenkins. Mr Jenkins was a short man standing at only 4’9. He had long straight ginger hair that he often wore in a man bun and he had a BMI of around 19 making him a healthy weight for a man of his height. This was all irrelevant knowledge. Luke was married to a young woman in her twenties called Gina Jenkins. She was quite a tall woman at 5’8 and she had short blond hair bobbed to her shoulders. Mr Jenkins was a hypochondriac and as well as being constantly paranoid about his health he was also constantly paranoid about the earth ending. Because of this, Sunnyside resident Mr Jenkins ended up building a bunker in his back yard. Ten years later when his house was resold due to Mr Jenkins never paying rent the young couple that had ended up moving in found the bunker and inside found Mr Jenkins and his wife dead. Rotting away inside the very thing made to keep them alive. Patton explained all this to Picani in detail. 

“Patton, here is my analysis. I think you remembered an article you read and you simply dreamt you were Mr Jenkins. Don’t worry. This sort of thing is very common. I’m going to prescribe you some clonidine as I believe that the explosion has triggered some form of post traumatic stress disorder and you are having nightmares because of it. I would like to see you on a weekly basis so I may check up on your well being and hopefully we can get your life back on track. Is that ok?” Again, Patton simply nodded in response before saying his goodbyes and leaving the doctor’s home. He braced himself on his crutches he now had to use as a result of breaking his leg in the impact of the explosion and pulled out his phone calling Logan.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Voicemail.

Patton sighed and tried again. Since he woke up that day everything had been different. He’d barely spoken a word to Logan- to anyone except from Dr Picani. Logan felt it was as though Patton was a ghost in the shell of their old home. He simply drifted from room to room, not speaking and hardly eating. The trauma of the event that still haunted the entire town had started to die down for most until it was just a nightmare. Not for Patton. Most people had been given months to recover. Many people hadn’t but life in Sunnyside was becoming normal once more. Buildings that had been damaged were being rebuilt and work places were reopening. People had started getting back into their routines and the once very thick and gloomy atmosphere had seemed to finally be lifted. Kids could be seen dancing and laughing as they skipped by open shops and streets bustling with people. Life went on. Logan had started working again now that Patton was awake and said to be well. Patton was not well. Sure, he was physically well. Aside from a broken bone in his leg he was in perfect health now that the radiation poisoning had worn away. His head had collided with the floor in the crash but had only caused minor head injuries. Mentally though Patton was a wreck. He couldn’t focus. Memories of that day kept him awake at night. Memories of his dream aided his lack of sleep. Patton found himself feeling much colder then before. Touching certain objects caused him to have daydreams. Some daydreams were of cute memories- some were his own memories but others were like an out of body experience. Other objects gave him nightmares that left him a shaking, sobbing mess. Patton was rarely seen now without gloves or hoodies, sweaters and jumpers so long that the sleeves covered his hands. Dr Picani had ordered Logan to keep track of these dreams. Logan spent a lot of time watching over Patton in case his ocean eyes would drain of colour to that blank white. He’d make sure to be there for his husband when those white eyes would overflow like a dam and blue would spill out, colouring the empty page. What Picani believed to be PTSD, Logan believed to be a superhuman ability. It wasn’t a secret that certain people in the town had been given superhuman abilities due to the explosion. In fact, people spent a lot of time after the first few months trying to find out if they had received abilities. Logan had always been a man of facts and the fact was that pure white eyes and the ability to relive memories that didn’t belong to you were not symptoms of PTSD. Logan just wished he could be there for his husband and discuss his hypothesis but Patton had become so distant since he had woken up. It was as though sleeping beauty had lost himself over the last few months and Logan feared Patton had fallen out of love with Logan.

Or maybe he was just over-reacting. Patton had only been awake for a week. Logan should give him time to properly heal. 

Ring. Ring. Ring. Voicemail.

Patton slumped against the red brick walls of Dr Picani’s home. Clearly Logan was busy. Next, he tried Virgil who answered almost instantly. It wasn’t long before he was being picked up in a taxi with his best friend in the back seat. He got in the car and fastened his seat belt making sure to avoid eye contact with his friend. He would have called a taxi and travelled home alone if he knew the number to the local taxi company. Virgil sighed as he sat back in his seat. He had hoped maybe today would be the day Patton spoke outside of therapy. He shouldn’t have got his hopes up based on the call he had got this morning in which Logan Berry was actually crying on the other end. Logan doesn’t often cry. To Virgil’s knowledge, the only person Logan has ever cried in front of is Patton. Virgil thought it was fitting that the only other person that has heard him cry heard him crying over Patton. Logan had dropped Patton off at therapy this morning and spent twenty minutes parked outside on the phone to Virgil in tears because Patton still hadn’t spoke to him. The only words any of them had heard since Patton had woken up was the phrase, “I’m dead.” The only explanation they ever received for that phrase was from Dr Picani who told them all Patton was simply dreaming. After seeing a person who had received superhuman abilities as a cause of the radiation, Virgil along with Logan wholeheartedly believed that this dream was instead a power. A superpower. Part of Virgil believes that the only reason he thinks this is because he’s always been a massive superhero nerd. His collection of comic books is that large that there is an entire closet dedicated to them. 

Most superheroes gain their powers after tragedy strikes. The true showcase on whether a person is a hero or not is how they use their powers. Virgil has always seen his friend as a superhero. The guy literally spends his days helping those who are sick or in need. Virgil might not have any super hero abilities as far as he’s concerned but he could still save his friend, “Patton? Is everything ok?” Virgil slowly reached over and placed his hand over Patton’s bare hand as a sign of comfort and as a sign that he is there. Patton’s eyes quickly faded to that dreaded colour once more and his friend turned to him, eerily slow. His lips parted and he uttered the first words Virgil had heard him say all week.

“You have powers too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be all about Roman. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a like and a comment if you want. They're greatly appreciated and make my day.


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